BATON ROUGE - A recent audit of the Louisiana State Board of Optometry Examiners revealed that one or more of the board's practices may be out of harmony with state law, according to the Louisiana Legislative Auditor.

The State Board of Optometry Examiners was created to regulate and ensure the safe practice of optometry in the state of Louisiana, but auditors discovered that as the board attempted to carry out its duties, several key financial, clerical, and ethical responsibilities appeared to have been disregarded. 

The audit highlighted 11 concerning discoveries. Auditors reported that the board did not have proper controls over disbursement, did not have adequate controls over bank reconciliations, and allowed the Louisiana Optometry Association – a private entity – to use some of its resources, which is a potential violation of state law.

In addition to this, the board did not maintain any personnel or time records for its former employee, paid its former employee a “Christmas bonus” of $1,250 in potential violation of state law, and failed to submit payroll tax withholding reports to the Louisiana Department of Revenue and the Internal Revenue Service in a timely manner.

Auditors found another concerning failure related to the board's lack of proper controls over its collections; it did not have written policies and procedures for its primary financial and business functions, and did not maintain sufficient documentation for its 2020 budget.

The board also failed to comply with state law requiring annual training related to sexual harassment and to ethics.

A full audit report related to the above findings can be read here.